The answer is no for anyone who has to play in the game, coach in the game, watch the game from the stands, or who wants to see the best possible product on the field for the sport's premier game.
It is a great idea for anyone who is there for the circus that surrounds the Super Bowl, but doesn't particularly care about the game. That means executives from sponsors, owners and execs. of teams not involved in the game, the non-sports media who cover the game.
So here is good:
- New York is the greatest city in the country and there is not a city better built to handle the event.
- The stadium will still be new.
- The weather will be cold so the executive types won't want to go to the game so there will be more tickets available for the average fan.
What is the bad? It's obvious. The weather and how it is going to affect everything. There is no way the temperature is going to be above 20 at game time. Also, there will probably be a good chance of snow or some kind of nasty precipitation. Last year, on Super Bowl Sunday, the east coast was getting hammered with snow. And remember, the wind swirls in the current stadium and probably will in the new stadium. That alone is going to mess with the game.
Don't give me this "the best games are played in cold weather" nonsense. There have been like five memorable cold weather games and usually the football wasn't that great. (The exception is when my Giants beat Dave's Packers in -2 degree weather in the NFC Championship game. That was awesome. The game was great and I think Tom Coughlin's face still hasn't recovered.) The games are memorable for a dramatic play or series made more dramatic because of the conditions. For every "Tuck Rule" I can give you ten "Music City Miracles."
It is going to be cold. That is going to drive away the people in the stands. Most of the people in the seats aren't fans of the teams involved. They are, or know, some muckety-muck and are there for the event. They'll be gone by halftime if the temperature is under 30 degrees. The cold alone won't affect the on-field product, but cold combined with other adverse weather conditions will affect them. Chances are, there will be some adverse weather conditions. If that happens the fans at home will start to turn away, and those are the folks the NFL needs. The ratings are what allows the network to charge so much for advertising, which in turn allows them to back dump trucks full of cash at the NFL offices for the rights to air the game.
What it comes down to is this; the owners have made a decision that they wanted, even though the players, coaches, GM's, and most of the fans don't want it. Bob Craft tried to reason it by saying that it will be great to show off the economic recovery in New York. To that I say this....horse shit. New York doesn't need the Super Bowl. They don't need it to show off. New York is going to be great with or without that game.
So now for a solution. I'm not one to bring up a problem without a way to solve it. To me it's straightforward. Set-up a rotation of mostly southern cities with great culture, restaurants, hotels, etc., and give special consideration to cities with domed stadiums like Houston, Dallas, Atlanta, and New Orleans. That way, even it is just raining you can have perfect conditions for a game. Along with the four cities already mentioned, San Diego, Phoenix, Miami, Tampa Bay, and Charlotte could be on that list. Every now and then throw a northern city a bone, but only if they have a dome, like Minneapolis or Detroit.
And did you see Roger Goodell when he made the announcement? Could he have been more nonchalant? Even he doesn't want it in New York.
New York is a great city, the greatest city. But they don't need the Super Bowl XLVIII and for 2014 the NFL should have put it somewhere else.
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